Jan Bill (Ph.D., born 1961) is Professor of Viking Age Archaeology and curator of the Viking Ship Collection at the Museum of Cultural History.

Background

I worked 2003–7 at the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde as head of research, exhibition and antiquarian work and senior researcher. Before that I was 10 years at the Centre for Maritime Archaeology at the National Museum of Denmark as a PhD student, researcher, senior researcher, research group director (1997–2003) and deputy director (1999–2000). In 2001–7 I also teached part-time in maritime archaeology at the University of Aarhus. I have experience with teaching and supervising students on bachelor, master and Ph.D.-level and am currently supervising two PhD-projects.

Research interests

My area of research encompasses a varied range of themes within Viking Age and medieval archaeology, notably seafaring, burial archaeology and the application of scientific methods. The interpretation of the Norwegian ship burials - among those Oseberg and Gokstad - is one important focal point which has directed my interests towards the representation and maintenance of power through burials. Another is the history of seafaring and its interaction with the development of more complex societies.

I have published my research in around 15 papers in scientific journals, 4 books and booklets, 15 chapters in books and 10 papers in conference proceedings.

Institutional responsibilities, Commissions of trust, Rewards

I am strongly involved in the planning for a new Viking Age Museum at the Museum of Cultural History and a member of the Steering Group for the Saving Oseberg Project (http://www.khm.uio.no/english/research/projects/saving-oseberg/). I sit in the Wissenschaftlicher Beirat des Niedersächsischen Institut für historische Küstenforschung and the Advisory board of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Schwerpunktprogramme "Häfen von der Römischen Kaiserzeit bis zum Mittelalter". Further, I am Board member and, since 2016, head of Board of Collegium Medievale . I am being used as referee in PhD exams, articles, grant and tenure applications and book reviews. I have presented papers at many conferences, including the Viking Congress in 2001, 2005, 2013 and 2017. In 2017 I was awarded the Aage Rothenborgs Endowment for my work with early medieval, Scandinavian maritime culture.

Following magnetometry and ground penetrating radar surveys, a geoarchaeological field evaluation was carried out at the Iron Age burial mound of Rom in Slagendalen, Vestfold County, Norway, in order to assess the accuracy of the geophysical data interpretation and to investigate specific questions that have arisen during data interpretation. The evaluation was conducted within the framework of an archaeological excavation campaign in 2013, which enabled direct access to the subsurface materials. The archaeological stratification was recorded by laser scanning using a three-dimensional (3D) single-surface approach, permitting a virtual reconstruction of the excavated part of the mound and facilitating the comparison between excavation and prospection data. Selected sediment sequences were targeted with in situ and laboratory-based measurements for correlation purposes, including magnetic susceptibility, electrical conductivity and water content measurements. Here we present the methodological approach and the results of the geophysical prospection surveys, followed by a geoarchaeological evaluation and a discussion of the impact on the overall archaeological investigation.

INTRODUCTION The Oseberg ship, dated from ca 815-820 AD, is one of the most important discoveries of the Viking age period in Norway. The fact that the ship consists of 90 % original material makes it a unique find with no comparison elsewhere in the world. The ship is 21.5 meters long, built with radially cut, 3 cm thick oak planks and is 5 meters at its widest. In 1904 the waterlogged wood was conserved with linseed oil and creosote and the surface exterior was then lacquered. Over 2000 pieces were used for the reconstruction of the ship with the use of both original and modern screws together with adhesive. The Oseberg ship, displayed at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, has been subjected to an uncontrolled climate since 1926, with only heating in winter. The display area is therefore influenced by seasonal changes in relative humidity (RH), which rises above values of 70% RH in summer, and drops below 30% RH in winter. Rapid changes over the course of a few hours have also been recorded. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS Continuous monitoring of dimensional change due to RH fluctuations has been carried out on two planks of the ship and on two samples free to warp. To our knowledge, it is the first example of long term hygro-mechanical monitoring on an archaeological wooden artifact. Through this approach it is possible to show the specific sensitivity to RH fluctuations; restrained planks show the least response, while unrestrained samples have highest response to RH changes. The analysis of the data obtained after fifteen months of continuous logging allows us to quantify the specific “sensitivity” of the wood, which can be useful in determining the threshold of allowable RH fluctuations. The results of stress on the free samples in the exhibition site will be discussed. It is also planned to measure the forces absorbed by the restrained samples so that long-term mechanical effects of absorbed stress can be understood better. These data are fundamental as a validation of future Finite Element simulations and hygromechanical modelling of deteriorated wood.